WHY "THE DEVIL'S PLAYHOUSE"?
ABOUT THE HOUSE
Six different decades, over 100 casualties
One house.
"The Devil's Playhouse" is the story of a single building– cursed by the corrupted wishes of a young girl, destroyed by hellfire, and rebuilt by the ignorant. Over and over again.
For the concept of TDP, our team was inspired by a trip to Webster Hall in New York City– a concert hall founded over a hundred years ago, a place home to many, including, but not limited to: artists, gangsters, activists, bohemians, anarchists, celebrities, hedonists, punks, and of course, musicians. During this trip, we sought out photographic reference and explored our surroundings, taking note of different outstanding elements. Nearby bars, a church. abandoned moonshine bottles, bookstores, parked cars with strange contents, and alternative clothing shops were some of the few.
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |
Upon researching the building further, we found that the building was “plagued by fires, which occurred in 1902, 1911, 1930, 1938, and 1949” (Wikipedia), thus giving us the idea to have our fictional iteration of the building constantly “reborn” through fire.
After our basic plot was created, we each picked a decade to focus our individual plots in–
Sabrina, 1890s: A family home, destroyed by an accidental fire, and reclaimed by a naive little girl and a dark force
Loraine, 1920s: A speakeasy operating during Prohibition, with a kindly bartender and an obsessive flapper who can’t seem to take her eyes off him
Laura, 1940s: A family owned bookstore running during WWII by a sad, but sweet, young lady who’s looking for her purpose
Nick, 1960s: A theatre frequented by an aging actress, who builds an obsession with her loss of youth and the new talent threatening to replace her
Taylor, 1990s: An underground concert venue, home to a budding punk and grunge scene, ruled by provocative bands whose petty feuds keep them relevant in print
Stephen, 20XX: A high-tech monastery, whose monks take their worship to abnormal extremes through self-immolation
Though we have all chosen to express our narratives in different ways, styles, and with different themes and elements, two things stay consistent throughout– where the story begins, and how it ends. The Devil’s Playhouse is always rebuilt and repurposed, but nothing will save it– and its inhabitants– from its inevitable climax: destruction by fire.
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |